1) The Gorillaz @ the #1 spot? I thought the average NPR listener was over 14 years old, guess I was wrong.

2) The Gorillaz & The National over The Black Keys?? Phleeze. That's just plain wrong.

3) IMHO, The Dead Weather is really nothing special. My guess is it's making it on the the star power of it's members alone. I call it the Blind Faith syndrome. Blind Faith was a great lineup on paper as well and the album they put forth was decent, but no where near as great as what was expected of the sum of the band's parts.

4) I could never understand what the big deal is over Vampire Weekend either.

5) Broken Social Scene is garbage. Suffered through a BSS show a couple of years ago. The only notable thing about it was the band has 4 to 5 guitar players who collectively don't add up to one good one. Unquestionably the worst band to come out of Canada since Triumph.

6) Is anyone else puzzled by bands totally redoing entire classic rock albums?
I give The Flaming Lips high marks for the decent attempt to redo the entire album of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon. It couldn't have been easy and the job they did was okay, but was it really necessary? I hope it's not a sign that they're run out of their own ideas.

The Flaming Lips thing was for a New Years show, and it got such a good reaction they did it at a couple of festivals and got such a huge reaction and so many requests that they decided to record it, it was done quickly.

The Gorillaz have a few good singles, they are not an album band, although Bobby Womack is brilliant.

The National are brilliant.

It's all opinions, Black Keys can't really be compared to the National or Gorillaz. Very different styles.

The Flaming Lips thing was for a New Years show, and it got such a good reaction they did it at a couple of festivals and got such a huge reaction and so many requests that they decided to record it, it was done quickly.

Granted. It still seems to me to be the onset of a trend though, not for the FL's, but for the genre at large. I'm concerned about it for the genre because, IMHO, it seems like such a backward thing to do....unless they tweak it to almost unrecognizable levels of course.

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The Gorillaz have a few good singles, they are not an album band, although Bobby Womack is brilliant.

I'm definitely NOT a fan of them, but the cameo choices the people behind it make are both surprising and smart. Resurrecting Womack is a great example, the jaw dropper for me is when they got Mark E. Smith to do a track.

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The National are brilliant.

It's all opinions, Black Keys can't really be compared to the National or Gorillaz. Very different styles.

True. I don't mind The National at all, just feel that the Black Keys latest is far more interesting and deserving of the #1 spot.

-Like the Gorillaz album alright (the song Lou Reed features on is great), not my #1 by any stretch.

-High Violet is top 3 for me easy.

-Haven't gotten into the Black Key's new album enough to have a verdict, but liked it first couple spins.

-Broken Bells...eh. I love the Shins, but only a couple songs from this one really struck me.

-Enjoyed the LCD Soundsystem album and the new Vampire Weekend. Not sure they are top 10 material for me, but I wasn't disappointed by either one.

-Beach House might be my favorite of the year. Definitely up there.

-Not on the Mumford bandwagon at all. God knows I have friends who have tried to win me over.

-Spoon's Transference is a little underrated on the whole, I think. I'm a big fan of theirs, and I liked this album's direction and production, even if it isn't the classic that Kill the Moonlight and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga are.

5) Broken Social Scene is garbage. Suffered through a BSS show a couple of years ago. The only notable thing about it was the band has 4 to 5 guitar players who collectively don't add up to one good one. Unquestionably the worst band to come out of Canada since Triumph.

Uh, Nickelback? I like BSS alright. They've put out some good albums, but they do have a sound that is kind of muddled, hazy and meandering even in studio. I think it works, but I can see it not translating great live or not appealing to a lot of people.

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Originally Posted by Hogan11

6) Is anyone else puzzled by bands totally redoing entire classic rock albums?
I give The Flaming Lips high marks for the decent attempt to redo the entire album of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon. It couldn't have been easy and the job they did was okay, but was it really necessary? I hope it's not a sign that they're run out of their own ideas.

I listed to that cover album once, didn't need to hear it again. I thought the Lips last album, Embryonic, was really solid, so I think they are still going strong. Just a side project that might get some curious listens, but nothing to remember too long.

Just a heads up, the thing doesn't have an official US release date until September, yet drops in the UK on July 12th. Given the global nature of music these days I have no idea why. If you need any help "finding" it let me know.

Uh, Nickelback? I like BSS alright. They've put out some good albums, but they do have a sound that is kind of muddled, hazy and meandering even in studio. I think it works, but I can see it not translating great live or not appealing to a lot of people.

I listed to that cover album once, didn't need to hear it again. I thought the Lips last album, Embryonic, was really solid, so I think they are still going strong. Just a side project that might get some curious listens, but nothing to remember too long.

I love the Flaming Lips, saw them twice, once at Red Rocks. Embryonic was good, not as good as the previous releases since the Soft Bulletin (although Evil is one of my all time favorites of theirs) but that Karen O song drove me nuts. Hated it.

On a Flaming Lips note, has anyone ever down the Zaireeka CD with all 4 at once?

Uh, Nickelback? I like BSS alright. They've put out some good albums, but they do have a sound that is kind of muddled, hazy and meandering even in studio. I think it works, but I can see it not translating great live or not appealing to a lot of people.

Well Kid, you got me there, I had totally blocked Nickelback out of my mind.
BSS is henceforth, the worst and most irritating band out of Canada since the dreaded Nickelback.

Just a heads up, the thing doesn't have an official US release date until September, yet drops in the UK on July 12th. Given the global nature of music these days I have no idea why. If you need any help "finding" it let me know.

Will do, the lineup is impressive and Peter Buck rarely (if ever) participates in anything that isn't totally worthwhile

Will do, the lineup is impressive and Peter Buck rarely (if ever) participates in anything that isn't totally worthwhile

Tired Pony

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Tired Pony was formed by Gary Lightbody (of Snow Patrol), who had a "long-term ambition" of making a country album.[1] He revealed the project's existence in May 2009. In the interview, he expressed his love for country music, which he said he had loved for a long time: "I always thought I had a country album in me and it turns out I did."[2] The rest of Snow Patrol expressed excitement for their band-mate, "delighted that [Lightbody was] getting to exorcise all his crazy ideas."[3] In October 2009, Lightbody in his blog on Snow Patrol's website revealed the members of the group to be Richard Colburn (of Belle & Sebastian), Iain Archer, singer Miriam Kaufmann (Archer's wife), and Jacknife Lee. He talked about two more members whom he was very excited about, but didn't name them.[4][5] He also stated that the album won't be country as was being reported,[2][6][7][8] but would be "country-tinged".[4] In January 2010, Hot Press reported Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) to be a member of the group. Lightbody described Buck as one of his "all-time heroes" and admired his talent for playing a variety of instruments.[5] Lightbody looks at the project as something he has "wanted to get out of [his] system", and said that "[he doesn't] know whether people will dig it or not."[2] He has expressed doubts about the commercial viability of the group's work, mainly in the United States.[9]